


Probability

by Chyrstis



Series: The odds of that happening [1]
Category: Heavy Rain
Genre: Crime, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-04
Updated: 2010-09-04
Packaged: 2017-10-11 11:10:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/111753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chyrstis/pseuds/Chyrstis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madison and Jayden saved Shaun at the old warehouse, but that's not the end of it. Not by a long shot. Leads up to the "Innocent" ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _Disclaimer- Heavy Rain is very clearly not mine, though that does not stop me from letting my mind wander away with it._
> 
>  
> 
> This assumes that Ethan is in jail and that Madison and Norman make it to the old warehouse. I tried not to take too many liberties, but I did miss the potential for some extra interaction between the two (of which this scenario was the only chance for some, go figure), so don't hurt me too badly if this turned out poorly. This is my first time working with any fic in this fandom, but inspiration refused to give me any peace until this was written. 
> 
> **Update:** I did some editing mostly to tone down Blake's super-aggressive behavior later on. It's still not perfect, but it's at least more in line.

She had no time to think. No time to focus on the pain shooting through her leg with every step. Something was sprained or broken, she wouldn't know until later if there was a later, but for now she could only focus on the rungs of the ladder as she reached up and grasped them with her hands.

_One by one, one at a time. Stay calm, Madison, stay calm..._

She heard Scott Shelby struggling to keep up below, and clamped down on the fear which threatened to never let go. They were too high up for her to make any mistakes. One misstep and it was all over. He would certainly make sure of that.

_There! The top!_ She could make out the upper platform of the crane just a few feet ahead. _Almost there-_

Her fingers scrabbled on the slippery metal before finally catching on the grooves of its surface. Shelby was barely a foot behind her as she hauled herself up and struggled to her feet. Lightning shot by above and the light glinted off of the glass windows of the crane's control station up ahead. That one location became her sole focus, and Madison knew at once that there was no other place to escape to.

The door wasn't locked when she reached it and she slammed the door shut as soon as she made it inside, locking it this time for good measure. Gasping for breath, she leaned against the counter behind her and furiously checked the pathway that led there from the ladder.

_He was right behind me! You can't just vanish into thin air 50 feet above the ground! How could he-_

Madison turned just in time to see Shelby's fist connect with the glass and break through. That was when her fear finally hit her full-force. Her little barrier had suddenly become a lethal trap and she no longer had distance as her ally.

A cry escaped her throat as a metal rod exploded through the glass in front of her, and she leapt to the side, feeling her window to act dwindling quickly.

_Get it together, girl!_ Her mind shrieked, moving a mile a minute.

_...Wait!_

She watched him hesitate for a fraction of a second as he pulled the rod out of the window, sending pieces of glass everywhere. _If I time it just right, maybe, just maybe, I could get that thing away from him! _

She shifted to the side as it broke through the glass pane beside her and she used that slight moment of hesitation on his part to latch onto it. Shelby was a lot stronger than her; that was an undeniable fact, but the rain and his surprise seemed to work in her favor as they struggled over ownership of the weapon.

However, her resistance only seemed to fuel his fury over her presence there, and with a sudden surge of strength Shelby hauled her through the broken window, causing her to collide with the metal rail behind him. The rod itself clattered to the floor beside him, no longer within her reach. The force of the blow painfully shoved the air out of her lungs in a harsh cough, leaving her staring out at the short platform that made up the top of the crane.

As Shelby pulled her back and sent another blow to her midsection, Madison knew that there was no going back for her. He had her exactly where he wanted her and was simply biding his time.

He lifted her up with little effort and she screamed as she flew over the railing, the metal floor rushing up to collide with her body. Slamming against it left her temporarily dazed, but she forced her eyes open. There was no way in hell that she would make this easy for him.

_Shit! Come on, get up! Get up!_

Everything hurt at this point, but the adrenaline surging through her system gave her the extra boost she desperately needed, allowing her to get back on her feet.

Shelby's expression had once again returned to one of resignation, an expression that had appeared briefly downstairs before he had attempted to choke the life out of her, and he grabbed the discarded pipe before stepping over the final barrier between them.

She felt the rain whip against her body, drenching her to the bone, but she only had a moment to wipe her eyes before the flash of lightning highlighted the metal rod swiftly approaching her.

Madison stepped back, bending away from the blow, and barely regained her balance in time to twist away from the second one. The look in his eyes was frenzied, each swing flying by faster than the last while her reflexes continued to deteriorate.

Her luck finally disappeared when her feet flew out from under her, a wrong step causing her to slip on the rain-drenched platform. The metal slid under her fingertips as she struggled to pull herself up, but he had already raised the rod above his head.

Madison screamed one last time as a loud sound cut through the air, cracking as if it were lightning.

Shelby froze, the rod lingering in midair before slipping from his hands to fall into the darkness below. Shock, confusion, and disbelief were only a few of the emotions that crossed his face, and when he turned Madison finally saw what caused them.

The FBI profiler, Norman Jayden, had followed them. Somehow, he had recovered from the blow to the back of his head and through the grace of luck, fate, or a higher power, had found the two of them and shot Shelby in the back.

He promptly shot Shelby a second time once they were fully facing each other, maintaining a steely look in his eyes, and probably would've done so a third time if Shelby had not silently fallen to the side off of the crane's platform.

A splash echoed from below, and that was when Madison knew that it was finally over. Tears began to well in her eyes, though from pain or relief she couldn't tell, and she let them fall only to have them get lost in the rain.

Jayden put away his gun and approached her, kneeling down beside her on the floor. She noticed that the bruise on his forehead was more than a little pronounced, but it didn't seem to dull his senses in the slightest. He had acted without hesitation to save her, and for that she could never hope to repay him.

Now with the threat gone and the killer dead, he let out the breath that he seemed to be holding and let his shoulders slump. He appeared to be every bit as exhausted and relieved as she was.

"Shaun...is he safe?" Her voice was hoarse and almost foreign to her ears.

Jayden raised his head and nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Yeah. Shaun's safe. We got him."

Madison laughed, the news removing the nervous tension in a way that nothing else could. _Safe... It's okay, Ethan. Everything's going to be okay._

"...You know, I could kiss you right now."

He snorted and gave her a skeptical glance. "I thought I was the only one with a concussion. Anyhow, I wouldn't thank me yet. I still have to find a way to get us both down that ladder without breaking our necks. Besides, quite frankly," He got to his feet and gestured to the area they were in. "this place is a fucking mood killer."

Jayden extended his hand to her, and Madison let him pull her up, finally registering the freezing cold which had settled over her and how much she was shivering. "Well, get us down there safely and...I'll see what I can do." Her teeth were definitely chattering now.

"One thing at a time, Miss Paige." He responded wryly. "Let's get you and Shaun to an ambulance and take it from there..."

The rest of the police had arrived by the time they had reached the bottom floor of the warehouse, and she also picked out the flashing lights of the ambulance. A group of paramedics had already gotten to Shaun and placed him onto a stretcher in the back of the vehicle. Madison was sure that hypothermia and starvation were only a few of the conditions that Shaun could be suffering from, and he needed to get to a hospital as quickly as possible for treatment.

A few workers milled around the ambulance as Madison and Jayden approached it, checking Shaun and their supplies, and one helped him to set her on the back of the vehicle. He grabbed a blanket sitting behind her and pulled it around her shoulders before the EMTs shooed him away to check her condition. They poked and prodded as doctors and nurses were apt to do and she yelped when they attempted to straighten her leg.

She found the profiler again in an attempt to distract herself from the pain and found him talking to one of the paramedics who had been checking on Shaun. They were both standing a few feet away from the vehicle along with what she assumed were three other cops. One of the three was engaging both Jayden and the medic in heated conversation, but that didn't concern her as much as the bleeding wound on Jayden's forehead did.

_Was he even going to get himself looked at?_ "Hey!" She called out. "You should get that checked!"

He turned away from the uniformed woman and the officer to stare over at her in confusion.

"Your head! You're hurt."

Jayden tilted his head to the side and smiled that same barely-there smile as before. "You're not the first person to tell me that, Miss Paige!"

_Is he...amused?_

"Miss." She looked down at the EMT who was setting her leg in a splint. "We're going to have to take you with us for more tests at the hospital." He flashed a small light into her eyes and she found it hard to focus on his face.

She stubbornly tried to pick out Jayden from the crowd again only to notice that he and his fellow officers had disappeared. "There was an FBI agent with Shaun and I. The killer hit him on the head pretty badly, and he needs to be looked at too."

"We'll send someone to find him, but right now we need you to relax."

Madison sighed as they pulled her into the vehicle and glanced over at Shaun, who peered back at her. She smiled reassuringly at him, and introduced herself."Hi, Shaun, I'm Madison. I'm a friend of your father."

"You are? ...Where is he?" The poor boy was exhausted. Both the rings around his eyes and his voice emphasized that fact.

"He's with the police right now, but he will be with you soon. I promise."

Shaun nodded once, before closing his eyes. He was what mattered. With Shelby gone, no more harm could come to him or any other children, and they could live on in peace.

She leaned back and let her eyes slowly drift shut, the nightmare finally over for all of them.


	2. Chapter 2

An unfamiliar ceiling and bone-white walls greeted her as she woke up. Madison had never completely understood why so many people felt uncomfortable in hospitals, but now she was beginning to see why. Everything was a blank and sterile slate, showing no signs of life or warmth. It was a place for care and treatment, but it lacked the welcoming feeling of home. She may have had a love/hate relationship with her apartment, but at this moment she would've given anything to be out of this bed and in her own.

But that option was out of the question as long as her leg continued to feel like it had been hit by a sledgehammer. Pain was always worse the day after the trauma, but she never imagined it could feel as bad as it did.

A nurse entered her room as she tried to sit up and set a glass of water on the dresser by her bedside. "How are you feeling, Miss Paige?"

Madison winced, and waved away the nurse when she tried to adjust the pillow behind her back. "About as good as someone in intense pain can be, but considering the alternative, I can handle it."

The mental image of her falling from the crane crossed her mind briefly, sending chills down her spine. Any pain was worth working through compared to an end like that.

The nurse didn't know how to respond to her answer and instead attempted to maintain a friendly disposition. "Dr. Johnson should be in to see you soon. He will update you on your condition and answer any questions you might have."

She handed the water to Madison, and smiled once more before leaving the room with her clipboard.

The water felt amazing on her throat, and she was soon left with an empty paper cup. Blinking her eyes more than once, she brushed her hair out of her face and leaned her back against the large pillow behind her. By the time the doctor had found her, she had already begun to slowly peel apart the sides of the cup and was fiddling with a thin strip of it. Madison watched as he pulled out her file, a new one, and she anxiously began ripping the strip into smaller and smaller pieces instead.

He gave her a kind smile, taking the time to wipe his glasses before introducing himself. He was the Dr. Johnson that had been mentioned earlier, and would be the one to primarily treat her during her (hopefully) short stay.

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we?" He flipped open her file and began skimming through the results of the tests they had likely done while she had been unconscious.

Her knee was in bad shape, something she was acutely aware of but needed confirmation for, and it had probably taken the full brunt of the fall when she had jumped at the warehouse. With Shelby on her heels, she had had no other choice in the matter, though she was definitely paying for it now. Any movement after that had only aggravated the injury further, and there was a possibility that her ankle had been sprained as well. Her other injuries were limited to bruises and pulled muscles, things that could be fixed with time, rest, and a few painkillers, but her leg had to go in a cast or brace in order to heal properly.

_That means that my bike is _officially_ off limits for the next few months. Shit. _She could arrange for a taxi to come and pick her up, but her options for transportation had been whittled down to either that or the hard way. Crutches.

_...Looks like I'm going to be working from home for the next month or two._ _  
_

They set her up in record time, fitting a cast over most of her leg, and handed her the paper work and details for her prescription. They also offered to extend her stay if need be. She used that opportunity to assure the staff that she was fit enough to leave, and refused the wheelchair offered to her. The crutches would take some getting used to, but the last thing she wanted was to have someone wait on her.

She approached the front desk later in the day, dressed in her clothes from the day before. Madison wasn't too thrilled about that, but she wasn't about to ask Sam to drop by her place to bring her some spare clothes to change into. It didn't seem worth the hassle, and she would get a chance to change soon enough. Then she could begin to wash away the bad feelings and memories associated with that day, beginning a new one instead with a fresh start.

"Have you finished your paperwork, ma'am?"

"Yes, sorry about the wait." She leaned against the desk and glanced around at the patients and staff moving from room to room. "Actually, I've been wondering about something. Do you know where Shaun Mars is?"

The woman at the desk looked up from the papers handed to her. "Are you family?"

"Um, no, but I am a...a close friend of the family. His father would want me to check on him. I rode in the same ambulance with him on the way here."

Madison watched as she went over the details for a few seconds, not looking thrilled as she began typing on the computer in front of her. "Visitors are limited to family, but if you are here to represent the father you should be able to make a quick visit. He's been through a lot, so I wouldn't stay long."

She jotted the room number down on a sticky note and handed it to Madison, who was grateful to see that it was on the same floor as her. It was a bit of a walk, however, and she knew that some exercise was in order to compensate for her tired limbs.

The door was open when she arrived and she approached slowly, not wanting to disturb Shaun if he was sleeping.

_If anyone deserves a break, it's him. I hope he's doing okay-_

He seemed to be asleep, but he wasn't alone. A redheaded woman sat close to his bed, and lovingly moved his hair off of his forehead. Madison froze as she looked up, and knew immediately that she was intruding.

_And that would be his mother._

She moved closer to his side, and eyed Madison with a hint of suspicion. "I'm sorry, you are?"

"I, I'm..." _A friend of your husband? ..._Is_ Ethan your husband? _

She took in a deep breath before continuing."My name is Madison Paige. I was there at the warehouse with Shaun. I was trying to help Ethan find his son. I'm a...friend."

Her look softened, but still remained guarded. "Was that how you got hurt?" Madison nodded. "They told me that a woman was brought here with Shaun, but nothing else other than that. It's almost as if they didn't want me to know what had happened there."

She paused to wipe her eyes, the tears escaping her notice until then, and took in a few breaths before continuing. "...I didn't think I would ever see my son again. Ethan had all but disappeared, but I kept on hearing things, about how he was searching for him, how he had been feeling over the last few years, and how he could have been the murderer... I had no idea what to believe."

Madison hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to speak up. "Ethan never gave up on him, Mrs. Mars. Not once."

She tried to smile, but the expression didn't carry the same weight as the sadness in her eyes. "I doubted him, and almost lost my son as a result. ...I don't know if he will ever forgive me for that."

Moving away from the door, Madison approached Shaun's bedside and looked down at the little boy they had all fought so hard to save.

"The opinion of a stranger may not be worth much to you, but there were moments where Ethan doubted himself. I don't think he could hate anyone for feeling the same."

She glanced up at Madison, before looking back to her son. "That may be true. ...Still, thank you for believing in him when I couldn't."

Madison shifted uncomfortably on her crutches, wondering if it would be wise to continue this conversation. His mother wanted time with him alone, and any information on Shaun's condition could easily be found out from his doctor.

She turned and slowly began moving towards the door. "I'm sorry for barging in like this. I shouldn't be here-"

"Wait!" Madison stopped and looked back over her shoulder.

The tears had taken over again, and Shaun's mother wiped them away as best as she could. "I, if you see Ethan, please...let him know I take back everything I've ever said. I'm so sorry..."

She dissolved into small sobs, and Madison could do little else but silently agree to her request. Something told her that both Ethan and Shaun's mother had a lot to work out, and the last thing she needed to do was get stuck in the middle.

_It isn't like it's much of my business anyway. Ethan and I aren't dating. It wasn't like he had any time to tell me he was married between the times he put himself through hell for his son. ...I shouldn't have let myself even wander down that road to begin with.  
_

There was a special kind of awkwardness there, and she didn't want to focus on it any more than she had to. Not until she had more time to clear and gather her thoughts.

She continued her trek towards the door and let herself wander down the hallway for a few steps. There was nowhere else to go from here, and Madison settled into the first seat she came across near the front desk. The woman behind it ignored her this time around, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. The ceiling was the same shade of white here as it had been in her room, she noted idly, but that wasn't a surprise either.

Her eyes slipped closed as a hand came down on her shoulder. The motion jolted her awake, and her eyes snapped up to the person acknowledging her.

The profiler. Agent...Jayden? He looked the same as he had the night before, with the exception of a bandage on the right side of his forehead.

_Had it only been last night? It seems as if it's been years..._

"Madison Paige?" She snapped back to the present as he flashed his badge, the reflexive motion feeling more like a formality at this point. "Norman Jayden, FBI. We met at the warehouse yesterday."

She shook her head. "No, I remember. I just wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

"You sound just as thrilled as I feel. How are you holding up?"

"Well," She gestured towards her leg. "This is the only thing I have to worry about now, and I should be okay as long as I decide to give up any late-night rides on my motorcycle. I'm sure you can see why."

Jayden tilted his head to the side as he looked down at her. "It'd be interesting to watch until the third or fourth time you'd avoid crashing into a group of pedestrians, but I get it." He glanced towards the front desk and didn't even try to hide his concerned expression. "Have you heard about Shaun?"

"He's with his mother right now. Everything seems to be okay, but I haven't talked to his doctor." She shifted in her seat while trying to minimize any movement of her leg. "I didn't have any business being there."

"I see." He rested his hands on his hips and sighed, looking uneasy.

Something seemed off about him. He looked pale under the white lights and the bags under his eyes spoke volumes about his current physical state. He appeared to have been running non-stop on a lack of sleep and an overdose of worry and anxiety, something that she could completely understand, but that initial odd feeling lingered long enough for her to continue to examine him closely.

_Maybe he secretly hates hospitals too. I wouldn't be surprised considering how far away I'd like to be from here._

"Miss Paige? I'm flattered, but I'm hardly the most interesting thing here."

_Maybe that was a little too blatant. _ "Oh, I was just noticing that you got your head looked at."

"The medics mentioned some lady complaining about me bleeding all over the place, and refused to let me leave without stopping it." The look of amusement in his eyes contrasted sharply with his indignant tone. "She _insisted._"

A laugh escaped her lips as she recalled her loopy behavior the night before. The struggle had left her a wreck, while she had been high off of a mix of adrenaline and cathartic relief. Who wouldn't take the time to tease her about it? Besides, this agent had already made it clear that his thought processes were running on a different wavelength than 98% of the local police force. If he had, they would've skipped the pleasantries ages ago and she would already be carted off to the station.

But they were wasting time here chatting about things that didn't matter in the long term. Ethan was still unfairly locked up at the station, and the sooner she could put an end to that, the better. She also had a feeling that Mr. Profiler wasn't too far from that train of thought either.

"...I should probably be getting up, shouldn't I?"

Jayden nodded and held out his hand. "I'd like to take you back to the station for a few questions. It's only about a few details that we'd like some clarification on, and shouldn't take up too much of your time."

Madison climbed to her feet and set up her crutches, not especially looking forward to being the one answering the questions for once. Then again, maybe that was karma's way of mocking her career choices. That wouldn't surprise her at all.

The glass doors silently slid open to reveal an orange sky dotted with dozens of gray clouds. The downpour from the night before had slowed to a light drizzle, refusing to disappear completely. After a day spent indoors it was refreshing to feel, a welcome change from the oppressive dread that had accompanied every raincloud over the last week.

Jayden's car wasn't too far from the entrance, and he ran around her to open the door when she got close. The action itself was harmless, but she still found herself throwing a glare his way as she climbed inside. He didn't respond, but Madison knew he noticed it. When your job involved building ideas and expansive psychological profiles off of random facts and actions, you had to have one spectacular set of observational skills in order to keep it.

He settled into the driver's seat, looking over at her before focusing on the road. "Comfortable over there, Miss Paige?"

"Yes, I'm _fine_." Madison muttered, putting on her seat belt.

"...You do know I'm trying to be polite rather than condescending, right?" He was looking right at her now, and she knew she had been caught.

"It's just that I've got a bit of a love/hate relationship with the concept of chivalry. Not every princess is waiting for their knight in shining armor to come and help them along every step of the way, or save them from the smallest hint of danger. It doesn't work like that. ...But I really shouldn't be bringing this up at all. I'm rambling, and you're doing nothing to stop it."

_And probably doing a fine job of convincing him you're crazy too. Way to go, Mad._

The car engine roared to life at the turn of the key and Jayden turned his attention back to the road. "Huh. I'd make a terrible knight. It'd be a recipe for disappointment."

"I don't know. I do owe you my life."

"You say that now, but you try to do any saving when your armor's rusted due to the goddamn rain." He sighed dejectedly and shook his head. "This is starting to sound like a shitty Lifetime movie I caught on TV once."

Now _that_ was a priceless mental image that Madison couldn't help but laugh at. "You are the strangest cop I've ever met."

Jayden picked that moment to send her a glare of his own, but even she could tell he didn't mean it. "..._FBI_ agent. The title comes with the fancy badge and hole-in-the-wall office, you know."


	3. Chapter 3

They pulled up to the station just as the clouds decided to end their truce, and the steady downpour began to pound on the roof of Jayden's car. She could see his sour look a mile away, but he got rid of it quickly. The area where they had parked was on the lowest level of the station. It was also in an area where they would be going in through a side entrance, so they would have to take the elevators once they got inside.

"So," He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, playing a song that only he knew the notes to.

Madison eyed him curiously and wondered if he was about to start whistling too. "So...?"

"How much do you know about this investigation?"

The question temporarily threw her for a loop. "No more than anyone else would."

"You expect me to believe that you, the woman who found Shaun Mars singlehandedly with no police help, don't know anything about how this investigation's being run?" he replied, an incredulous look on his face.

She pursed her lips and remained silent, but maintained eye contact.

Jayden studied her face for a few minutes and then turned his attention to the raindrops trailing down the windshield. "I'm not using this small space of time that we have left to badger you, Miss Paige, but I would appreciate your cooperation."

The tapping stopped. "If it'll help jog your memory, I already know that you're a journalist."

"I only announced that two seconds after calling you."

Her comment did little to discourage him. "Come to think of it, I'm curious as to how you managed to get my cell number. The one that I thought I did a damn good job of keeping to myself."

"You did." Jayden's eyes narrowed, and she had a feeling that they were both beginning to walk on thin ice. Sam didn't get much on him, but he did manage to get his cell number. "I'm a journalist. I have my methods."

"_That's_ the argument you're planning to use?"

"I didn't say that it was a good one." It was bullshit and they both knew it.

He leaned back in his seat and ran his hands over his face. "...Look, you can play coy with me all you'd like, but once we get inside it won't just be me asking you these questions. Carter Blake will throw a dozen in your direction before taking your answers and hanging you with them. Tell me you at least know who he is."

A lump began to form in her throat and she swallowed it. "No, I know exactly who Lieutenant Blake is."

_Any journalist who's done their fair share of sneaking around knows that if you have to deal with any cop you sure as hell don't want it to be him. Sam only gave me pages of information on him, along with a formal warning not to mess with the guy. _

"Good, because I'm trying to help you here. You don't want to tell me about your sources? Fine. I'll deal with that on my own time, but in there you'll have to be a lot more creative if you want any chance at getting Ethan out of there before the next ice age." He turned and made sure she was looking at him. "You can trust me."

He was sincere. About all of it. Concern was painted all over his face, and she knew that if there was anyone here that she should trust it would be him. He had already taken a huge risk in helping Ethan escape the station, an action that still surprised her, but there was no mistaking the gratitude in Ethan's voice when he told her about it.

No other cop would have gone to the lengths he had, and it was for that reason that she had dialed his number outside of Shelby's demolished apartment when it had seemed like there was no one else to turn to.

She bit her lip, unsure about what was going to happen next. "I'll cooperate."

Jayden began tapping his fingers on his knee, shifting his focus back to the rain outdoors. "I'm happy to hear that, Miss Paige. Now, I'm going to offer to open your door for you. Is that okay?"

"I think I can deal with it. I'd have more of a problem with you offering me your jacket." Madison replied off-handedly, popping open her seatbelt.

"Seeing as I'd like to make it through an entire day without being punched, you've got a deal."

Giving up on waiting for the pouring to stop, Jayden stepped outside and ran around to the back seat first to grab Madison's crutches. She used that moment to take in a deep breath and exhale slowly.

_You can do this. You have to do this. Ethan and Shaun are counting on you, and the last thing they need is for you to be a nervous wreck! _

The door opened, the cold air seeping into the warm vehicle and Madison looked up at Jayden, who was waiting for her. The crutches were propped up against the car and he was offering his hand. Again.

She took it and used his shoulder to balance herself as she carefully slipped one crutch at a time under her arms. "You're lucky you look so damn miserable out here."

"So, that would've earned a punch too, huh? I don't think I'll ever win with you."

"Not at the rate you're going at." Madison muttered, beginning to journey towards the small set of doors that lead inside.

The elevators weren't too far from where they had come in. It appeared to be a small warehouse of sorts, likely where most of the police kept their equipment. A few cops wandering around gave them odd looks, but with one flash of Jayden's badge they backed off, getting back to whatever business they had down here.

He punched the button to the elevator and rubbed his hands together. Even with a decent coat on, he seemed cold, and Madison temporarily thought about offering him her own.

_It's only fair if he thought about giving me his, right? I wonder what kind of snappy remark he'd come up with then._

The ding of the elevator signaled its arrival and its doors sluggishly opened, thankfully revealing nothing but a set of drab, gray walls. They didn't need and didn't want any company on this ride, and the silence would have been welcome if not for the little tune playing just out of earshot.

They only had to go up one floor, but Madison took the break for what it was, leaning against one of the walls just so she could attempt to take some weight off of her foot. It didn't work well, but a few seconds helped better than none. Jayden stayed right where he was, his arms folded in front of him and his eyes locked onto the little numbers resting above the metal doors.

_Is he worried about something? _She wondered, watching one number fade while the next lit up. _Should __I be worrying more than I already am?_

Another ding cut off the rest of her thoughts abruptly, and they both knew that their short reverie had come to an end. He sighed deeply as the doors slid open, and both entered the main level of the station.

It was a mad house. Phones were ringing off of the hook, and many officers were shuffling paperwork back and forth across the small space between their desks. Most stations were hubs of activity and this one was definitely no exception.

Jayden tapped her on the shoulder and gestured to the far end of the room. The office of the captain, Perry, she believed, was on the back wall, and what she guessed were the holding cells lined the wall on their right. That pathway didn't cut through the desks of the other policemen, so she walked right alongside the cells, catching brief glimpses of the prisoners inside.

As she hobbled along she could feel his hand at her back, subtly urging her to move faster. She was already moving at half her usual speed and gave him a questioning look. His expression had slipped into a neutral mask, but what bothered her the most was how pale he seemed under the lights.

_What's with him? Is he afraid of someone asking questions? Or is there something else that he forgot to tell me-_

Her eyes locked onto one cell in particular, and her heart nearly stopped. "Ethan!"

She almost threw herself off of her crutches getting to the door, and the sound of her hitting the glass got Ethan's attention instantly. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and she wasn't sure if he had been eating either. Being trapped in a cell with only yourself to blame did not do good things to one's mental state, and Madison already knew how much of a toll Shaun's disappearance had put on him.

_Now I have a chance to free him of that weight. _

"Madison!" He pressed his hands against the glass, both surprised and desperate. "Madison, where's Shaun?"

She could barely hear him over the noise in the station, but that didn't matter. He had to know about his son. "He's safe, Ethan! He's at the hospital! You don't have to worry about him any more!"

"...Miss Paige, we need to keep moving." Jayden urged, keeping an eye on the offices. "You can't stay here like this."

She ignored his voice in her ear, and focused instead on the man in front of her, gripped by relief and elation. "Everything's okay now, Ethan! Shaun's safe and I'm going to help get you out of here!"

"Norman! Where the _fuck_ were you?"

Madison's eyes shot towards the open door of Perry's office and the incensed man marching right towards the two of them. _That_ was Carter Blake, and he appeared to be out for blood.

Jayden moved to block her from him, making sure that he was the focal point of Blake's attention and anger. "Picking up a witness for questioning. This is Madison Paige. She was with me at the warehouse and we need her help to wrap up this case and free Mars."

Blake threw up his arms in disbelief. "What are you, a fucking taxi driver? Fine, get her in there before you waste any more of my time."

The glare Jayden gave him in response could have knocked anyone out with its potency.

Madison looked between the two of them, and knew immediately that she didn't want to be caught in the middle of that. _And they're partners too. Talk about a match made in hell. _

Ethan hit his fist against the glass trying to regain her attention, confused as to what was happening on the other side. Worry was reflected clearly in his eyes and she tried to give him one last reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Ethan. I won't be gone long, hold on!" She reached out and touched the glass again before letting herself be led off by Jayden, her fingertips trailing off only to find their place on her crutches.

He was pissed. There was no neater way to put it, so she did her best to comply, heading down past the rest of the cells towards a small corridor. It lead to a single door, neatly isolated away from the rest of the station.

Jayden's hands had started to shake, a motion that made it difficult for him to get the door open and did little to improve his negative state of mind. When he did get a hold of it he threw it open, slamming it against the wall. The sound reverberated in the small room causing her to jump, but with Blake on her heels she pushed forward, setting herself down rather ungracefully in the metal chair pulled out for her. Her crutches stayed in her hands until they were taken and placed on the wall behind her.

Madison watched as Blake locked the door and signaled to someone beyond the glass pane in front of her. It had to be a cop with a camera, but she wasn't about to ask either of them about it. There was curious and then there was stupid. She knew she didn't want to fall into the latter category.

Jayden leaned back against the wall opposite her, and ran his hand over his face before making eye contact. This would be nothing like the accidental conversation in the hospital or his car. It wouldn't be an easy or good-natured exchange in the slightest. This was an interrogation, pure and simple. All she could do now was hope that the answers she gave were the ones that they wanted to hear, for both her and Ethan's sake.

"Well, well..." Blake walked towards the table she was sitting at and perched himself on one corner of it. "Madison Paige. Your name doesn't ring a bell, but I think I recognize you. Weren't you the one helping Mars back at that shit-hole apartment?"

She stayed silent, not sure if there was a safe way to answer that.

"All right, maybe that wasn't you. What about that motel you both just happened to stay at? I think I remember seeing that same motorcycle sitting outside the day we all decided to make a little visit."

Madison began tapping her fingers on her thigh, forcing herself to focus on the motion rather than Blake's probing stare. "I don't think one motorcycle should be proof of anything, Lieutenant."

"Maybe, maybe not. But when the plates on the bike at Marble Street match the ones seen on the bike left at the warehouse, well...that makes me wonder what this witness has to prove by trying to play us like a pair of fucking morons." His tone was beginning to rise, and she felt her mouth go dry. "Maybe I'm just not asking the right questions."

"Or maybe you're making a dead horse that much deader. We need to cover the basics, and go over the events at the warehouse. The other information can be found out later in a follow up." Jayden interjected, not even bothering to face Blake. "Now, what's your occupation Miss Paige?"

She sighed and closed her eyes. "...I'm a journalist and a photographer. I've written a few articles for The American Tribune, but nothing else."

That news was nothing new to Jayden, but Blake chuckled bitterly at her statement. "A reporter? Figures we'd get one in here. Tell me, when did you first hear about the Origami Killer?"

"They did a couple of segments on TV after the first two deaths, and the rest was history. The day they named him, he became real. Parents had something else to fear, something much, much worse than they had ever imagined. ...A monster."

"Miss Paige, did you have any knowledge of our investigation?" asked Jayden, carefully keeping an eye on her and his volatile partner.

"I went to the press conference, and did my homework." she remarked, the idea seeming like the simplest thing in the world. "All you have to do then is just put a name to a face. You would be surprised what they consider public information now."

Jayden crossed his arms and moved away from the wall. "Guess there's no such thing as a well-kept secret any more?"

"Not with the shit-storm the media keeps on whipping up." shot Blake. "Anything's fair game when there's a camera in their hands and a story to tell." Madison looked up, ready to challenge him again when he held up his hand. "No, don't even try opening that mouth of yours. You said it yourself. The Origami Killer was a monster, but what were you willing to do to stop him?"

He got up and placed one hand on the table and the other on the back of her chair, leaning in closer. "He was a fucking murderer. He didn't care about any of those children, right? Someone had to know something. That's what brought you to Mars, wasn't it?"

Madison froze.

"Does he know what you are? What you were willing to do to get the Origami Killer off of the streets?" hissed Blake in her ear. "_Anything._ Even if it meant using him, or willingly allowing him to get caught."

She slowly turned and looked him right in the eye. "Fuck you."

A smile crept onto his face, lacking any warmth. "No one's a saint. Not a single damn one of us. Don't tell me none of those things ever crossed your mind."

"That's enough, Blake." Jayden warned, not liking where this was going.

Madison barely registered the fact that her hands had balled into fists so tightly her knuckles were going white. "You know nothing about me."

Blake shook his head. "I don't have to. You're telling me everything. Now that you've got your story what the hell does Mars matter to you now, huh? He's just some sad sack, with a kid who couldn't bother to keep both of his eyes in one spot long enough to keep him safe. Makes for the perfect award-winning tearjerker, doesn't it? Why I bet you didn't even have to write much because it fucking wrote itself-"

"Back the hell off, Blake!" Blake moved away and Madison let her eyes settle on Jayden instead. "I brought her in for a statement and a few questions, not this!"

"Fine. You want me to leave her alone, I'll leave her alone. ...But that doesn't change a damn thing." Blake responded, leaning against the wall by the only exit in the room. "Go ahead. Get your damn statement."

Jayden's hands were shaking again, something that Madison noticed he tried to keep hidden as he sat down, and he took in a deep breath before meeting her eyes. "Madison. Tell me what happened last night."

She covered her face with her hands and tried not to let the guilt get to her. _Not now. Not in front of either of them. Not in front of that son-of-a-bitch._

A few minutes passed by, and once she had regained her composure, she let herself glance through her fingers over at the FBI profiler that had saved her life. The same profiler whose partner had caught and kept Ethan locked up for days, convinced that he was guilty of a crime that he did not commit. She had told herself earlier that she trusted him. Reminded herself that Ethan trusted him. Judging from how he was focusing on her right now, she could tell that he wanted her to trust him too.

"I...well, you were there for half of it."

"I was, but I need to hear it from your perspective."

Madison tried to let some of the tension go, wiping her eyes before shifting in the small, uncomfortable chair. The scene was all too easy to describe and she knew that she would remember it months from now. The entire evening and all emotions associated with it had been burned into her mind, and nothing would force her to forget it. Not after what had happened there at the old warehouse.

With that in mind she began with the moment she pulled up to the old rusted building, flinging her helmet to the ground. Both men listened as she described the empty building and the sight of Shaun Mars floating in that damned well, a grate the only thing keeping him from escaping. She mentioned Jayden showing up then, how they both tried to get the grate up before Shelby appeared out of the dark and knocked him unconscious, using her surprise against her.

Madison subconsciously touched her neck as she recalled the vice grip Shelby had held around it. If he had succeeded they all would've died down there on that level. Her, Jayden, and Shaun. None of them would be here right now, and that alone gave her the chills. She paused briefly, disturbed by her minor realization and shook her head before continuing.

She told them that she had no idea where to run, choosing any open path that could get her further away from him. How she jumped and injured herself, practically throwing herself off of the storage containers just so Shelby wouldn't catch her again. The containers had let her weave a complex path through them, keeping him from having a clear shot at her, and when the ladder to the crane presented itself, she told them that she had no choice but to go up.

From there things had started to look pretty bleak. Her leg had been banged up and she was now forced to climb a crane with a homicidal Shelby right on her heels. The rain had to have been the only thing slowing him down that night, because nothing else was able to. She talked about the crane's control station at the top, the bar in his hands and how easily he managed to throw her around. The short platform he had chased her to had been a dead end, and she closed her eyes as she remembered that moment.

"I didn't want to believe that after everything it would end that way. I was just too stubborn to admit to myself that I had screwed up and was about to die for it." She rubbed her eyes and looked over at Jayden. "That's when you showed up, of course."

_Like a hero in a movie, illuminated by lightning and soaked by the rain._

"...He shot Shelby, and caused him to fall off of the crane onto the other containers below. I remember hearing water splash, so it had probably filled up with rainwater. Agent Jayden then helped me get down the ladder and made sure Shaun and I were taken to the hospital. From there I think you both can guess the rest."

Jayden let the events run through his head for a second, an unreadable look in his eyes. He was probably organizing and taking facts where he saw fit, figuring out what to use and what to omit for later. Madison had tried to give them only the bare facts, but with the event fresh in her mind it was almost impossible to recite it without feeling, whether she liked it or not. There were too many emotions associated with that memory, both negative and positive.

Leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table, he glanced over at Blake who was still guarding the door, before turning to Madison. "That should be more than adequate." She could see the gratitude in his tired expression, and almost felt like she was mirroring it herself.

Blake made a quick gesture to whoever was behind the glass to stop recording, and walked up to her table a second time. "If you're finished then get her out of here and get Mars."

Jayden looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"You fucking heard me, get Mars!"

Jayden waited, but Blake refused to elaborate any further than that. Swearing under his breath, he got up and handed Madison's crutches back to her.

_What was going to happen now? What about Ethan?_ Questions raced through her mind, but she had no chance to ask any of them as Jayden calmly walked her to the door.

He exited first, holding it for her, but Blake's hand on her shoulder brought her to a halt. "...If you're withholding any information about this case or I hear that you're hindering any part of this investigation, I'll make damn sure your ass is dragged back in here. And you won't have _him_ as your shield either. Got it?"

His words were at a volume only they could hear, but Jayden couldn't miss the look they exchanged. The silent threat was a challenge, one that Madison met head on.

"Got it."


	4. Chapter 4

"Un-fucking-believable." muttered Jayden through his clenched teeth. He walked Madison past the interrogation room, and stopped by the offices. "Are you all right?" He lightly touched her shoulder, searching her face for any indication of how she was feeling.

"You're letting him go in there?"

"What?"

She twisted her shoulder to push his hand away, the simple motion way too strange in her handicapped state. "You're letting Ethan go in there alone with that bastard?"

"My hands are tied. As long as I'm here he's my partner. What I can do is be there to make sure that everything stays under control."

She wasn't sure that was good enough. "Can't you say something? Pull up a record of Blake's behavior and have him suspended? There has to be something there you can use against him!"

"If you've learned anything about this department, then you already know that that won't work at all."

He looked around momentarily to double-check that no one was paying any more attention to them than anyone else before speaking in a lower volume. "Blake's impulses trump his better judgment. His file shows that he can do good work when left alone to his own devices, but at the same time he's still...unpredictable. For this reason, I haven't let him _or_ our witnesses out of my sight since being assigned to this case."

"But you won't always be here." she replied, shifting around on her crutches.

His eyes fell, glancing at anything in the room but her. "...I will do everything in my power to get Ethan Mars out of here, Miss Paige, but you have to let me do my job first."

"You promise you won't let anything happen to him?"

Jayden looked up, not intimidated by the doubt in her eyes. "No, I won't. Just like I won't let anything happen to you either."

They stood there together for a few minutes, the sounds of conversation and ringing phones filling in all the spaces an awkward silence would have left. She glanced over at the cells and felt her shoulders slump as she thought of the man trapped inside. She had never felt so...useless.

_He can't give you any more than that, so it's not fair to expect that of him. Don't do this, Mad._

"Madison," Jayden began, resting his hands on his hips. "I want you to go home."

The lack of sleep must have started getting to her because she couldn't have just heard him say what she thought he did. "...What?"

"You haven't said it outright, but it doesn't take a genius to see that the last 24 hours have put you through hell physically and emotionally. You broke your leg fighting Shelby one-on-one on top of a _crane_, for Christ's sake!" he exclaimed, gesturing towards her cast. "You've more than done your part."

Madison set her jaw, her irritation at his dismissal overriding any reminder that he _was_ doing his job. As a civilian she had no right to interfere, but her mind kept on going back to Ethan, and the little boy in the hospital he had worked so hard to save.

She shook her head. "I can't do that."

"Go home and get some sleep." Jayden repeated, his tone still as infuriatingly calm as before. "I can take it from here. I'll get you a taxi or arrange for an officer to take you home."

"I'm not going anywhere."

His mouth began to curve into an irritated frown. "Miss Paige, unless you have any other information to share, I can't afford to let you hinder any part of this investiga-"

"I can't go home! Not with what I know right now. Not with what's happened, and what may happen as soon as I walk out of that door." Madison hated the desperate edge to her voice and the pleading look in her eyes, but couldn't get them to go away. "...I _can't_. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did."

Jayden pursed his lips, remaining silent. She had not left him with an easy set of options to choose from, and judging from his exasperated sigh he wasn't thrilled about it either.

_You do know that with one word he could have you forcibly removed, right?_ She immediately threw that thought out before it had any chance to jinx her. Now was not the time to play the pessimist. _But is there really anything else that you can do? Let him handle thi_s_. Don't make any more of an idiot of yourself than you already have. _

He swore under his breath again while rubbing his temples. "You, are an unbelievably stubborn woman, Miss Paige. If I allow you to stay you'll either have to sit out here and keep quiet, or go wait in my office. Do you agree to that?"

Her mind clammed up instantly. "...Yes, of course." she replied, not entirely believing that he was allowing this.

"Good. There are some seats over by Captain Perry's office, or you can find my office straight ahead." He pointed to the only office door they could see from there, and she nodded. "If anyone asks, you're with Carter and I, and if you need anything ask Charlene at the desk right here."

He dropped his arm to his side, eyeing her with uncertainty. She in turn, shifted nervously on her crutches under his scrutiny. "I guess I'll be waiting in your office then."

Jayden nodded once, both of them lingering at that same spot until he turned away to go get Ethan. She watched him for a few seconds, feeling more than a little unsure herself. Madison finally forced her hands to move her crutches in the direction of his office and told herself not to look back. It would only take one second for the concern and anger to come rushing back, and that wouldn't help her or Ethan.

Still, she found herself looking over her shoulder at Ethan as he was guided down that small pathway. Jayden kept him moving, but that didn't stop him from catching her eye. He was calm and composed, but more than that, ready. Shaun was safe. This place was simply the final obstacle in his path to his son, and she knew that he wouldn't let it stop him.

They disappeared behind the line of offices and she took in a deep breath before exhaling.

_You said you would let him handle it, so let him handle it. Now turn around and cooperate like you promised you would before someone else decides to kick you out._

Her muscles had never felt so tense in her life. She pushed the discomfort out of her mind and began hobbling towards Jayden's "office". It didn't take long for her reach it, and she pushed open the door with little force, letting it bump against the wall.

Madison raised her eyebrows as she scanned her surroundings, surprised at how subtle an insult an office could be. The drab, cobweb covered room was small and she guessed that before Jayden, no one had touched it in months. She moved over to the desk and noticed a wide stripe of its gray surface peeking out from under a thick layer of dust.

_I know that feds and local cops rarely get along, but...this is ridiculous. An FBI agent isn't something you hide in a little room in an attempt to ignore him. _

She pulled out the chair and sat down, setting her crutches against the side of the desk. Cleaning had never been one of her favorite hobbies, but a compulsive urge to fix this place so that it looked like a living person was working there refused to leave her.

_Real cute, Madison. I'm sure it would look great if he came back here to find you cleaning his office like a damn maid. _

It was all too easy to imagine. He'd waltz on in, act like everything was normal and then make a lovely comment about how there was no way she could be one because she wasn't even wearing the right outfit.

That train of thought ended about the time she remembered that beating him to a pulp with her crutches would likely count as a federal offense, so she shook her head and tried her damnedest to ignore the specks of dust dancing around her.

_You will_ not _maim the only decent cop you've met in a month due to his inability to keep his mouth shut. Even if he does deserve it._

Her fingers tapped along the edge of the table, and she began to hum. She lasted ten minutes alone in his office before her restlessness got the best of her. She grabbed her crutches and exited, heading over to the bathroom to throw some water on her face. The dark marks under her eyes stood out under the white light, along with a small bruise on the side of her cheek. She really did look like hell.

She splashed water on her face one more time and grabbed a paper towel to dry off. Something was still getting to her. With that in mind, she wandered over to the woman Jayden had referred to earlier as Charlene. "Um, excuse me. Do you know where I could get something to drink?"

She glanced up from a stack of paperwork, looking both annoyed and confused. A look of recognition then passed over her, and she smiled a little too widely to be entirely genuine. "Oh, you were with Agent Jayden earlier."

Madison nodded. "Yes. Sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering if there was a water fountain somewhere around here."

"We have a water dispenser over between the rows of the officers' desks over there."

Madison followed where Charlene was pointing to, and noticed it a few feet away from her desk. "Thanks."

Nobody else asked any questions while she filled up the little plastic cup, and she was grateful for it. She drank the water slowly, looking towards the interrogation room, curious about what exactly was going on in there.

Was Blake doing the exact same thing to Ethan as he had done to her? Jayden had said it himself. Blake was unpredictable. She wouldn't be able to accurately guess what was going on, and the mere suggestion of that drove her crazy. The man had asked her earlier what she had been willing to do to capture the Origami Killer. What had he been willing to do to capture him? Now that the killer had been taken care of, where did that leave him? There were too many questions left unanswered, and she hoped that the answers to them wouldn't be found through Ethan.

A yawn cut into her mental rambling, and she rubbed her eyes to get any residual sleepiness out.

_Screw water. _She threw the cup into the trash. _I need to stay awake and aware. I'm in a police station. They have to have some caffeine around here somewhere._

Charlene was in the middle of a conversation when Madison wandered over again. It went on for a few minutes, before the secretary realized that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. After she hung up the phone, she flashed Madison another relatively friendly smile. "Yes?"

"Sorry, it's me again. Do you have a coffee machine around here?"

She turned around in her chair and gestured towards an area just to the left of Jayden's office. A few officers were sitting around one of the tables while others gathered around the two vending machines present. "We have two coffee makers available over there to use, along with any sugar or cream if you need it."

Madison gave her an embarrassed grin. "Thanks again. This time I promise you won't hear from me any time soon."

The officers over by the machines paid little attention to her and stuck to their own conversations and concerns. A few mentioned the Origami Killer case, but not in enough detail for her to pick up on and listen to. What she already knew could practically be classified as privileged information, but that didn't stop her from being curious about the public's opinion of it.

_I have a feeling that people won't be as quiet once the identity of the killer hits the airwaves, however. In fact, I'd bet my bike that the news about Shaun and Shelby went up last night. Shit. I've got so much to sort through, and not enough time to do it. Now where's that coffee-_

Twelve types of different colored coffees stared back at her.

_So, I get to pick my poison, eh?_ She pulled out a packet that was an obnoxious shade of purple and looked at the label. _French vanilla? I guess that doesn't sound too bad right about now._

She inserted the little packet into the machine, setting a styrofoam cup up as well while she was at it, and watched as it took over from there. It was automated, so it brewed the coffee for a minute or two before slowly letting it drip into the cup. She could already smell the familiar acidic scent that accompanied a cup of black coffee, and grabbed a couple of packets of sugar to fix that.

Two packets and three creamers later, her coffee was ready to go. Madison sighed and raised the cup, eager to take a long sip.

Or she would have if someone hadn't have plucked the cup out of her fingers and thrown it into the nearest trash can. She stared blankly at her empty hand as another cup filled with water replaced her lost beverage.

"Don't drink the coffee here, Miss Paige. I wouldn't wish that shit on my enemies." Jayden remarked, his voice floating over her shoulder. She turned to see him eyeing the machine with disdain. "...I'd also recommend avoiding eye contact with it too just to be safe."

Madison shook her head and turned a glare right on him. Did he really have to sneak up on her like that? He was lucky that all of her coffee went in the trash can rather than on his suit. "...Really, now? That bad?"

He tilted his head to the side, thinking about it for a few seconds. "No, it's actually worse."

She downed the water in record time and threw her empty cup in the trash as he took a casual drink from his own. When she said nothing but continued to look irritated, his brow wrinkled in curiosity. "Aren't you going to ask me about Ethan?"

"I was, until you distracted me with your vendetta against the coffee machine."

He tossed his empty cup into the trash. "Guess I did, huh? Sorry."

"Where's Ethan?" Madison asked, looking towards the cells.

Jayden folded his arms and followed her gaze. "Blake escorted him back. Scott Shelby may have been the killer, but as far as Blake's concerned we're not finished with Mars yet. He's double-checking all of the information we have on him in the hopes that something new will pop up, but no amount of new info'll help heal the bruise his pride's still smarting from. It's a passive-aggressive attempt to save face on his part, with Ethan getting the worst of it."

_That doesn't sound good at all._ "What happened in there?"

"Blake asked him the same questions we've run over a hundred times already. Ethan was thankfully a lot less cryptic this time around, so Blake had something to work with to distract himself." Jayden paused, and gestured between her and the half-taken table behind them. "Did you want to take a seat? We could find a couple of chairs here or head back to my office."

Madison shook her head, holding up her hand. "No, and I don't know how you can stand to call that broom closet an office."

Jayden shrugged. "Half the time I use it I don't even notice. Anyway, we're done talking to Ethan tonight. With the paperwork we've got piling up around us, Blake should be occupied for a long time. ...However, the same also applies to me. Go figure, right?"

"When will Ethan be released?"

He leaned against the table next to the coffee machine and made a face. "I haven't the faintest fucking idea. The case is wrapped up in so much red tape it could take at least a couple of weeks for everything to be settled. Shaun will probably get out of the hospital long before his father gets out of here. I wish things were different, but it's not my call to make."

Choosing the spot right next to him, Madison redistributed her weight and pulled out her crutches so she could lean forward and rest her arms on them instead. "Can I talk to him?"

"Blake's got him barricaded. And now that he knows exactly who and what you are, I doubt he'd ever let you and Ethan be alone together. Any talking you'd want to do would have to be done through that door right over there."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm making an idiot of myself by staying here, aren't I?"

"You care about him." Jayden stated, folding his arms in front of him. "It stands to reason that you wouldn't tolerate him being wrongly imprisoned like this."

She picked at the plastic handle padding her crutches and tried to keep her injured foot off of the ground. Was she really that easy to read? He did happen to be particularly good at what he does, but then again, she had been more than a little open about her feelings from the moment she and the profiler had first met. A fact like that should have bothered her more than it did, but Madison was beginning to consider their relationship a special case.

_Life and death situations do have a way of blurring the lines, don't they? A journalist and an FBI agent wouldn't normally be standing around in a police station arguing about the quality of its coffee. In any other case I don't even think we would have met. That's fate for you._

Jayden pulled out his phone and glanced at its screen, mulling something over before looking up. "It's getting late. The station won't be open much longer than this. If you don't mind waiting five more minutes I can drop you off at your apartment."

Madison sat up and immediately began shaking her head. "No, you don't have to do that for me. Besides, don't they need you here?"

"If they do they'll let me know. In the meantime, I'm certain I can spare some time to make sure a witness gets home safely." He put his phone back and stood up, adjusting his coat.

_He's just as stubborn as I am._ "You're _positive_ that they won't miss you?"

"Trust me," he replied, a faint smirk on his face. "they won't even know that I left. Anyway, wait here. I'll be right back."

Jayden ran off in the direction of his office and she used that moment to gather her bearings. Her leg wobbled as she put her crutches back under her arms and for the first time that day, she looked forward to a good night's sleep. She was tired of thinking and worrying.

He came back soon enough and they began the slow walk down to the elevators. She yawned again during the ride to the ground floor and found herself grinning when he reflexively did the same. He remained silent, but she didn't miss the little half-smile on his face as he held the doors open for her to walk through.

Once in his car she found herself drifting in and out of a tired daze during the ride to her place. Flashes of red and blue trailed off into nothing as they passed by and they easily played tricks with her eyes. Madison vaguely recalled telling Jayden her address, but was grateful that of all the places she could have lived, it was somewhere not too far from the station. He never asked for directions, not once. Maybe he was being chivalrous, or maybe he was simply being stubborn, but in her current state she had no clue.

One of the more amusing sleep-induced images told her that she had seen him wearing sunglasses while driving, but a moment later the illusion was gone. She half-laughed, half-giggled at how ridiculous that sounded, and let her head roll to the side of the seat, returning to whatever dreams her mind would give her.

Soon enough though, he was lightly shaking her awake and she sat up in a rush. "W-who, what?"

"Miss Paige? We're outside of your apartment." He pointed up at the large, flashing sign. "This is your building, right?"

Madison stretched and looked up, nodding. "Yeah...this is my place." She blinked a few times, adjusting to her surroundings, and was surprised at how comfortable she had been. "...Not bad, Mr. Profiler. You know this city better than I thought you would."

"I'm a quick learner. What can I say?"

She rolled her eyes at his response and unbuckled her seatbelt. Her fingers touched the handle of the door, ready to open it, but she suddenly remembered why she had been driven home to begin with.

_Shit. They're in the backseat again, aren't they?_

Jayden climbed out of his seat to go get her crutches for her as she rubbed her eyes and checked for her keys. Everything was where it was supposed to be, and she pulled them out so she'd be ready to use them at the door. Thankfully it had stopped raining outside, so she wouldn't have to worry about that while she was messing around with the locks.

The car door opened and she took the crutches from him, choosing to stand up on her own this time. He stood nearby just in case she needed him, but after a few seconds she was on her "feet" and ready to go.

"So..."

Jayden folded his arms, his pale blue eyes focused back at her. "So..."

She sighed and started walking towards her building. _How can I even begin to word this?_ _It's not like it's some poem or award-winning article._ She ran a million different phrases through her head, each sounding worse than the last before deciding on one. It was much simpler than she intended it to be, but maybe that was the way it was meant to be.

She turned to him when she reached the top of the steps, and her lips curved into a small, but grateful smile. "Thanks. For everything."

Jayden nodded, the greater meaning behind the phrase not lost on him, even as he attempted to shrug it off. "No problem."

"You do know that I'll be back eventually, right?"

He gave her a real smile then, and began walking back towards his side of the car. "Of course you will," He called out over his shoulder. "I wouldn't expect any less of you, Miss Paige!"


	5. Chapter 5

"_Those trials? The issue I have with this-"_

"Hmm, is that it?"

"_-the fathers of the other victims were nothing but worthless sacks of shit. They abandoned their families-"_

"...Nah, it's too far."

_I've got to go back a little further than that..._

Jayden nonchalantly waved his hand in the air and ARI complied, rewinding the video clip suspended in front of him.

"_-ave you heard anything about my son? Anything at all?"_

"_He was brought to the hospital immediately after we found him. The doctors there are taking care of __him as we speak."_

_That's close enough. _

He rested his chin on his hand as he went through the footage. There was really no new information to find in Ethan's interrogation from earlier that day, but another look never hurt. ARI reminded him that it was getting late, but that didn't matter. He let the clip continue to run uninterrupted.

"_Thank God. Shaun..."_

"_Now Ethan, you need to tell me exactly what's been going on over the last week. Madison was at the warehouse. I was at the warehouse. We both know who did this to you and Shaun. Your son's safe from him now and the killer won't be able to hurt him ever again."_

He watched himself place his elbows on the table and lean in.

"_What really happened? What did he make you do for your son?"_

Ethan took in a deep breath, raggedly releasing it. The news of his son being all right and the pressure of the questions being asked were slowly beginning to wear him down. "_I was being tested. ...An __origami piece represented a new task every time, and succeeding got me one step closer to Shaun."_

"_The killer wanted a father to save his son. That was the goal of all of this, right? Those trials?" _Blake's projection asked, pacing back and forth.

"_The issue I have with this is that the fathers of the other victims were nothing but worthless sacks of shit. They abandoned their families. What fucked up thing did you do to make the Origami Killer pick __you?"_

"_I...I made a mistake that cost me my son two years ago. That mistake almost cost me both of them."_

He remembered it from the article he'd pulled up shortly after meeting Mars at the station. An auto accident. It killed his oldest son Jason, and left him in a coma for six months. Mars had been living the equivalent of the American Dream before then. The idyllic family, the successful career, the proverbial white picket fence. He had the whole nine yards and then some.

Losing one son had destroyed him. He appeared to have barely held it together after that. Losing Shaun would have crippled him completely. Jayden could tell just by looking at him.

"_I'd do anything for Shaun. Anything. He was the only thing that mattered. When he disappeared I, I blamed myself..."_

"_But it wasn't your fault." _His other self objected. _"The killer got to Shaun when he was vulnerable. Used his former occupation to make him trust him. You couldn't have predicted that."_

Blake halted his pacing, keeping his eyes on the mirror separating them from the camera. _"He couldn't keep an eye on his own child, for fuck's sake. If he'd bothered to actually care about his kid, then maybe the killer would've ignored the giant target he'd helped pin to his back." _

"Blake, you fucking prick." Jayden paused the clip and lifted up his glasses to rub his temples. It was amazing that they got anything out of Mars today. He let the glasses fall back into place and made a motion with his hand to continue.

_Because in Blake's version of the police manual it's a _perfectly _valid strategy to take a father's guilt and shove it down his throat. Results are practically guaranteed, right?_

The logic behind it threatened to leave him with a splitting headache. He tapped his fingers together and watched his recorded self react with similar disgust. Ethan had never before risen to take such bait, and now was no exception. He kept his eyes glued to his clasped hands on the table.

Blake took one look back at Ethan and snorted, turning back away. Jayden, on the other hand, shook his head and tried to continue as if nothing had happened.

"_Tell us about the trials, Ethan."_

It took a few seconds for him to respond, but the haunted look in his eyes was impossible to miss. "_...There were five of them. Five origami pieces. Each gave me a specific task to follow and a means of seeing Shaun."_

He referred to items in their custody, a cell phone and a shoebox filled with creased pieces of paper. Each had a typewritten command on them, and spelled out plainly what they expected of the recipient.

"_How far are you prepared to go to save someone you love?"_ Ethan shook his head. _"That's what I was asked."_

_What are you willing to do, it asked._

He remembered the desperate look Ethan had given him after they had all but locked him up and thrown away the key.

"-_I beg you! You're his last chance. Save my son..."_

_How far are you prepared to go before it's too late to pull yourself back?_

Jayden removed his glasses and placed his head in his hands. A familiar, tell-tale prick of pain had begun to sing to him, and he already knew his answer to that question.

* * *

Lieutenant Blake called her back while she was in the middle of cooking lunch. The smell of burning salmon provided an unwanted accompaniment to his gruff tone and Madison wrinkled her nose as she tossed the ruined dish into the garbage.

It had been almost a week since she had gone to the station and she had used that time to start getting everything down on paper. Pictures and documents were scattered all over the desk of her computer and the table in her kitchen. Too many hours had already been spent with Sam on the line and she wasn't even finished yet. That morning she had skipped breakfast in favor of a few articles covering "Dr. Death". Remembering that day in his basement had killed her appetite instantly, the memory of his hands on her almost making her retch. However, she still had to tell the public about his deeds, just like what had happened with Leland White. They had to be warned of the monsters lurking among them, no matter what feelings she had on the subject.

She still hadn't been in the mood to eat when she had started cooking lunch. She had developed a habit of skipping meals during the case, which did feel a bit hypocritical when she had reminded Ethan to eat, but in her rush she had failed to remind herself to keep up with it. Something like that would only hurt her in the long run, so today she had honestly planned to start fixing it.

Well, it would've been the start of things if Carter Blake hadn't burned it. That man seemed to have an uncanny ability to both directly and indirectly inconvenience anyone.

_"Do we have an understanding, Ms. Paige?"_ he asked again over her phone, not willing to tolerate the wrong answer.

She eyed the mess in the pan in front of her and sighed. "We do. I'll be right there."

_"Good."_ A dial tone sounded in her ear and she almost threw the phone at the wall.

_How Jayden could work a day with him without punching him in the face, I'll never know._

Madison took in a few calming breaths and turned her attention to the papers spread on her table. The dishes would come first, but after that it would be down to business. This time around she wasn't going in empty handed. After cleaning everything up, she pulled out a blank folder from under the pile of documents, making sure to sort through them carefully.

And just to be sure, she called a taxi.

She asked the driver to drop her off at the main level of the police station. She didn't need him to wait for her, so parking spaces weren't an issue. Madison was also sure that heading through the warehouse level of the station would get promptly get her removed, so she figured that the more straightforward she played it, the better. The doors slid open, and she adjusted the bag on her shoulder while trying to maneuver herself inside on her crutches.

Once at the front desk a grand total of 30 seconds passed before Blake appeared and jerked his thumb in the direction of the back of the station. "Paige! Back there, now!" he ordered, his voice carrying across the room.

Madison made no attempt to tone down the displeased expression on her face. _So much for the nice, warm welcome. _

Jayden was already in the interrogation room when they both got there, and she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way that she wanted to do this with Blake solo, and she found that having the FBI agent there gave her an added sense of security. He would give her the opportunity to explain herself and her actions before simply slapping a pair of handcuffs on her.

_And considering what I've had to do over the last few days, that alone is a valuable asset._

He stood up and nodded in acknowledgment, a small smile on his face as he placed her crutches against the back wall. He looked much better than he had before, a good night's sleep likely the cause of that. The bruise on his head still looked painful to deal with, however, and she found herself inwardly wincing at it as he sat back down.

"Welcome back, Miss Paige. I'm sorry we had to call you in on such short notice."

"It's no problem. I wasn't in the middle of something important." She then asked the million dollar question. "What did you want to know?"

"We went by Scott Shelby's apartment a few days back. With the killer identified, it made sense to check there for any additional information."

"That plan, though, had one big problem with it." Blake stated, watching her from one of the corners of the room. "Shelby's place had been reduced to a smoking wreck. Know anything about that?"

Madison shifted in her seat, adjusting her leg. "Are you asking because you assume I've already heard about it?"

"No, I'm _asking_ because three people identified a woman on a motorcycle fitting your description there that night."

She flinched at his tone and made a mental note this time to keep the bullshit to a minimum. _Remember the old saying about waving a red flag in front of a bull? It's just not a good idea. Blake's no different. Don't forget that. _

"Any idea what happened there?" Jayden asked, wanting an answer to that question as well.

_I'm the only one aside from Shelby who knows exactly what happened. ...The only thing is, where do I start? _

"Shelby had evidence there. Enough to implicate him entirely if found." She reached into her bag and pulled out a manila file, opening it up. "When I got there I made sure not to waste any time gathering what I could. I had a small camera on me and made sure to photograph anything that could be used against him. The quality of these are questionable, but it was the best I could get at the time."

Jayden slid the first picture out and examined it closely. The look of recognition on his face told her volumes. "Orchids."

"He was growing them in a hidden room kept behind the wall of his closet. The closet itself had an old cop's uniform which he had probably used to get the victims to trust him, but behind that back wall was what we were really looking for. In fact," Madison pulled out two more photos and laid them out for all three of them to see. "Here is the typewriter that he used to write letters to the fathers, along with a camera broadcasting from the warehouse."

Blake had moved in closer, unfolding his arms as he looked down at the images, while Jayden's eyes rapidly moved from one to the other. His troubled look was markedly more noticeable. All three focused on the last one Madison had brought to their attention, the small fuzzy screen displaying a circular well with a heavy metal grate placed over it. The face of a small boy was barely visible from within.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering all too well the feelings that came along with her discovery. "He had been watching Shaun drown. That's where he watched all of them drown."

"...Fucking hell-" Blake's expression twisted as he walked away, and the empty chair next to Jayden went flying into the wall.

Jayden's fingers lightly grazed the edges of the photo. His restraint kept him from reacting openly like Blake, but the look in his eyes nearly sent a chill down her spine. He took in a deep breath and exhaled, briefly making eye contact with her before pushing the photos away.

"That explains the camera in the warehouse. However," he gestured to what was in front of them, "you sure as hell wouldn't have been able to get these if Scott Shelby had actually been home at the time."

Madison nodded in agreement. "He wasn't there when I knocked. At that point Shaun didn't have a lot of time left, so I didn't want to lose that chance to get inside and find a way to him."

"So you broke in." Blake replied, continuing to face the wall.

She stared at his back for a few minutes before letting her eyes drop to the folder in front of her. "The apartment was still in one piece when I got there, and I...found a way around the lock. I checked the folders on his desk, the drawers, the files in the cabinets beside them, and found nothing but older cases he had worked on as a PI. On the surface there was nothing there to be found."

She pulled out a photo of a metal container. "Then I found this. When I had opened the door, I thought that I had smelled something burning. This was it. I didn't have a chance to go through it, but it had been on fire recently enough for me assume it had been evidence."

Jayden folded his fingers in front of his face. "Shelby had told the parents of the other victims that he was investigating the Origami Killer case. Any evidence he had recovered from them could've been disposed of right there." He was silent for a couple of seconds. "He'd probably been there at least 30 minutes before you'd dropped by."

"Well," Madison felt her hands begin to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. "Shelby wasn't there when I arrived, but I had no idea when he would get back. Soon after finding the camera with Shaun I noticed a laptop. It was password-locked, but after a few tries I managed to figure it out." She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "Right there in front of me, clear as day, was what we all had been looking for. Shaun's location. The address came up as soon as I got in."

Blake slowly turned to face her, the conflicted look from earlier replaced with one much more familiar to her. Irritated annoyance. "You had valuable information that we needed. Tell me why it never occurred to you to share that information with us?"

"That was what I was planning to do as soon as I got myself the hell out of there. There was just one big problem with that." She shook her head, half-heartedly smiling at them both. "He came home while I was still inside. I stepped out of that closet only to have Scott Shelby force me back in at gunpoint."

"No evidence, no witnesses... He wanted to erase the trail behind him, through any means necessary." stated Jayden, his mind processing the details as they were given. "Primary analysis of the scene suggested that the damage was caused by a propane tank explosion."

"He had it hooked up in the main area of the apartment." She remembered emerging from his burning bedroom only to see the large tank sitting right in the middle of the inferno. "I almost had a heart attack on the spot when I noticed it. After breaking out of that room and dodging most of the flames, how was I supposed to deal with that?"

_I almost couldn't. Only the ticking of that goddamned tank kept me moving._

"I was choking on smoke and looking for the nearest exit. All of the windows I came across were too high to safely jump from and the front door was out of the question. The only path left led to the kitchen."

"The windows in there were actually right across from the windows in the next building." Jayden commented, intently focused on her. "From there, all you'd have to do is find a way across so you could take the stairs down to the street. Ideally, of course. I doubt the rain would've helped much."

Madison had to laugh at that. "Sounds like I should have called you earlier. Anyway, you're probably right, but at the time I wasn't even considering windows any more. I was so scared that I was willing to use anything as a shield."

Blake folded his arms and stared her down. "What could possibly keep you from being blown to pieces in there?"

_...I think I'm going to regret admitting this._ "The table was in there was out of the question, so I went for the next best thing. The refrigerator."

Jayden's eyebrows shot up while Blake waited for a second and then burst into laughter. Judging by the way he was hugging himself it could only be the side-splitting kind. The FBI profiler in the meantime had leaned back in his seat and settled into a look of pseudo-confusion and contemplation. His mouth opened and closed periodically before settling into a thin line.

_That's it. Forget having them take you seriously, Madison. They now think you've absolutely lost it._ She couldn't argue with herself there. It _was _ridiculous. Seeing their reactions to her statement only confirmed that fact, but while physics couldn't explain it, something still gave it enough of a scientific loophole to make it work.

That alone kept her expression as dead serious as possible. "I know it doesn't make any fucking sense, but that refrigerator kept me safe from that explosion. Without it, I'd be dead."

Blake snorted at her comment, shaking his head. "...A goddamn refrigerator, she says."

Jayden had folded his hands in front of his face as he attempted to work out the mechanics of such a thing, but after a few minutes shrugged and gave up. "It _was_ one of the only things left standing in his apartment. Though in your case, Blake, try not to think too hard about it. It's not worth the damage."

"Fuck you, Norman."

The smirk on his face was carefully kept out of Blake's line of vision. "Just saying." Jayden then gestured towards her, his amusement disappearing completely. "Sorry about the interruption, Miss Paige. Please continue."

"...Everything was a blur after that." She rubbed her neck and recalled how dark the small space had seemed in spite of the bright white lights. "Somehow the door stayed shut. The tremor that I felt shook the foundation of the building, but didn't bring it down. I didn't know how long to wait before getting out, but as soon as everything had settled I opened the door and prayed that the floor wasn't about to fall out from under me. The next thing I remember is running down those stairs and being grateful that I could finally breathe."

Once the burning in her lungs had subsided she found herself facing three difficult choices. Two of the numbers on her list wanted the information she had, but she only had enough time to consider calling one of them. One was Ethan, who she would've called in an instant if he hadn't have been locked up by Blake and the department. The other was Jayden, someone who she had yet to meet, but still knew would benefit greatly from the tip.

The last option involved skipping the phone call altogether, choosing instead to head off to the old warehouse alone. That one spoke to her in panicked whispers in the back of her mind, threatening to paralyze her with nervous tension. Was she wasting time that would be better spent getting to Shaun? Would Jayden trust her information if she offered it? She didn't know the answer to either of those questions, but she knew that it would be stupid of her to ignore this opportunity. The more help she had, the better the odds were when it came to saving Shaun.

By the time her mind had come to that conclusion, her fingers had already begun to dial Jayden's number. It didn't matter that he already knew the information. What did matter was the determination in his voice when he told her that he was already on his way.

"I knew I didn't want to go there alone, so I let Agent Jayden know about the address. At least then one of us would be able to get to him in time."

"...And the rest is history." Jayden added, looking back at her.

She nodded, a wan smile on her face. "That's right. I don't think I need to go over what happened after that again for you, do I?"

"No, we've already got that on record." Blake glanced at the glass wall in front of Madison, made a motion for the recording to stop, and approached the table. He pushed all the photos back inside the folder and picked it up, holding it above her head. "This, however, will be treated as evidence and confiscated."

"I understand. Standard police procedure."

He then shifted his attention to Jayden while he moved towards the door. "Norman. You can wrap the rest of this up without having me babysit, right?"

Jayden's eyes narrowed, but his tone was deceptively cheerful. "With the proper paper, tape, and bow, you betcha. I'll even make it extra pretty just for you."

Blake's hand paused on the handle, before yanking the door open and letting it slam shut behind him.

They both anxiously watched the door for a few minutes, wondering if Blake was going to change his mind and storm back in, but after a while it firmly stayed shut. Jayden sat back in his chair and exhaled, staring at the ceiling. "Christ..."

Madison folded her arms in front of her. "Someday he's going to find an excuse to cripple you. You're going to provoke him and no one will be able to do a damn thing about it."

"Good thing I don't plan on sticking around much longer then." Jayden wryly replied, looking more than a little bitter. "The station's just as anxious to see me leave as I am, and I wouldn't want to rob them of that now, would I?"

He got up from his chair and walked around the table to help her get up. Madison had gotten to her feet already and took the crutches from him as they were handed to her. "If I were you I'd almost stay longer out of spite."

"I don't know if I'd have the heart to go through with it. Vacation, maybe, but even that's debatable." He watched as Madison regained her balance, staying nearby in case she needed something to hold on to. "With a choice between DC and here, I'd have to wait until at least spring for this godawful weather to clear up."

She pulled her bag from the chair and threw it over her shoulder. "Don't remind me. I'd trade my crutches in an instant for some sunshine and a warm breeze."

"A-fucking-men to that."

He stepped over to the door and opened it for her, allowing her to get through with minimal fuss. She froze at the sight of the papers on the officers' desks, however, and put a hand on Jayden's shoulder to keep from falling over.

"Wait! I can't believe I almost forgot this, but here." Only a few people would be able to see them from where they were standing in the small hallway, but she still did her best not make too many awkward movements when she reached into her bag to pull out an accordion folder.

Jayden eyed it curiously as he took it from her hands. "What's this?"

"All of my notes, summaries, and extra photos that have to do with the case. The organization's kind of hit-or-miss, but earlier you mentioned that you wanted my perspective of the events. This is it."

"...And you waited until Blake was gone to mention them. Interesting." he noted, a hint of a smile present.

Madison tilted her head to the side. "Do I _really_ need to explain my reasoning behind that?"

"Hmm. Good point. You said this is everything?"

"It's close enough. You can't ask a lady to give away all of her secrets." she joked, winking at him.

Jayden chuckled and turned the folder over in his hands. "No, of course not. ...Thanks. This'll be a huge help."

She pretended to shrug it off this time, and started moving down the hallway from the interrogation room into the main area of the station. "No problem. That should also do wonders to help Ethan get out. As for paying me back...coffee should take care of that."

He raised an eyebrow. "Coffee?"

"You still owe me one after what happened." she said, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Owe you- lady, if anything you owe me for saving you from that!" he exclaimed, looking mildly offended.

Madison tried to keep a grin off of her face, but that was quickly becoming damn near impossible around someone like him. "All right, then the _next_ time you find your way down here you owe me a decent cup of coffee. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Jayden held the large folder against his side, tapping his fingers on its edge. "Maybe. We'll see."

_Even if it's just to humor me, it's nice to hear him consider it. He's way too polite for his own good._

She smiled faintly. "Take care, Norman. Watch over Ethan for me, okay?"

"I'm not leaving until he's out of there, so no worries. The same goes for you too. You're damn lucky, you know that?" Jayden remarked, a spark of amusement lighting up his eyes.

Her eyes lingered on him a bit longer than she expected them to. "It's funny, but I'm starting to think so too."

* * *

The gears in the cell door shifted as the lock was disengaged, reacting loudly as all the defenses installed in it were removed. Jayden knew they had been placed there for a reason, but all those reasons applied to the usual violent and unbalanced criminals. The same standards just didn't apply when your prisoner was an innocent man. Ethan Mars was no threat to anyone, but as long as he was here, he would be treated as such. Ethan had been sleeping, but the guard pounded on the glass pane with the heel of his hand, forcing him to wake up.

Jayden tapped his foot impatiently and waited as they observed Ethan's behavior. _Two weeks in here, and _finally _some progress. _

This whole case to him had been nothing but a bunch of bureaucratic bullshit. Madison's information had sped the case along. No doubt about it, but with Blake and Perry at the helm, getting Ethan out had still been like getting your car stuck in a particularly hellish patch of mud. The ground had a suction-grip on the tires, the damn rain wouldn't stop pouring, and the car itself had begun to be swallowed up by all that muck. In effect, it was nothing short of a fucking mess.

Ethan sat up, watching the door with a mixed look of hesitation and suspicion when it opened. Jayden stepped forward but the guard present temporarily held him back. "No more than five minutes. Perry's orders."

He nodded. "No problem. That's all I need."

The guard removed their hand, letting Jayden move into the cramped space. It was always lit, stealing away any privacy that the occupants might want or need and he found it the entire room stifling. Sitting or sleeping in a place like this for a day would be bad, but for two weeks? He would go crazy. The window to the station almost compounded that feeling, because denying someone interaction with the world did not do positive things to their mental state.

Jayden stepped inside and took a seat beside Ethan on his make-shift cot. The thing was stiff as a board and uncomfortable to sit on, let alone sleep on. Another pang of guilt hit him, but he shrugged it off and looked over at a curious Ethan. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm dropping by like this."

He looked between the open door and Jayden, wringing his hands all the while. "I'm mostly wondering why I haven't been hauled off to that interrogation room again. Your partner isn't here right now, is he?"

"No, he's on his lunch break. I'll probably hear a complaint or two from him later on, but that doesn't matter. I wanted to give you an update."

"Update?" His eyes widened in panic. "Is it Shaun? Did something happen to him at the hospital?"

"Relax, Ethan." Jayden held up in hands and made sure to keep the tone of his voice consistent and calm. "Shaun's doing just fine. The doctors checked him out and let his mother take him home a couple of days ago."

Ethan's shoulders slumped as his head fell into his hands. Even with his son safe now, it would likely take him a while to go back to a life without worry. Weeks, months, years, who knew, but that feeling wasn't one to disappear overnight.

_Considering what he's been through all ready, it'll take a long time to heal. Having Shaun there should keep him sane, though. He went through hell for his kid, something most dads might hesitate to do. The least they deserve now is a moment of peace._

"I dropped by to see him while he was there. Nice kid." Jayden rubbed the back of his neck, and pulled a letter out of one of his suit coat's inner pockets. "Thinks you're a superhero, or something like that. He made me promise to give you this the next time I saw you."

Ethan looked up and gingerly took the white envelope with 'Dad' scribbled on the front of it from him. He handled it almost as if it were made of glass, taking his time to rip it open carefully. A sheet of folded white paper was pulled out, and he took a deep breath and exhaled as he unfolded it.

The letter wasn't a long one, but Ethan read it slowly and carefully. Minutes ticked away as he did so and Jayden did his best to be patient. Ethan needed to see this and would have as much time as he could afford to give. After reading a few lines Jayden noticed tears in the father's eyes and turned away. It was a pathetic attempt at giving him some privacy, but Ethan didn't even notice. All of his attention was on the letter in his shaking hands.

He wiped his eyes when he reached the end of it and refolded the letter as best he could, shaking his head. "...I don't know what to say."

"There's not much to say." Jayden replied, twiddling his thumbs.

"You saved my son. I can't possibly repay you for that."

"You don't owe me a damn thing. In fact, I'm fucking embarrassed that we've kept you here so long. Nothing says trust like leaving an innocent man behind bars, right?" He cleared his throat and hoped that he didn't say that last part too loudly. The last thing he needed right now was to piss off the guard and get tossed into one of these cells himself. "As for the update, most of the casework involving you has finally been wrapped up and settled. You're clear of all charges."

"That's it? I'm free? ...What's going to happen now?" Ethan asked, still unsure of where he stood with the department.

"Tomorrow they'll let you head home. We've already let your family know about your release, so you should have a few guests of honor there to see you when you get out."

The guard leaned into the doorway and signaled for Jayden to hurry up. He pulled out his phone and looked at the time, checking to see that Blake was still as far from the station as humanly possible. _Huh. Won't be back for at least another 15 minutes. Perfect._

With that confirmed he got to his feet. "The station will be handling things from here, but you shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"Handling things? They don't need you here any more?"

"No, I'll be finishing things up back in Washington, but I'll still be keeping tabs on things here. You run into any hiccups, let me know and I'll see what I can do." He caught a glimpse of the irritated guard's face peeking out on one side of the door and frowned in equal irritation. He didn't want to rush through this, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"...Anyway, Ethan. You love your son. He loves you and thinks the world of you. You've earned a second chance here. Don't waste a moment of it."

Ethan cradled the envelope in his hands, keeping his eyes on it. "...I won't. I swear it. Thank you." He looked up, a genuine smile on his face. "Thank you."

* * *

_"Remember to keep your seatbelt fastened until the captain turns off the fasten seatbelt sign. Stay safe and enjoy your flight."_

The prerecorded voice cut off abruptly after that, reminding them which airline they were currently flying with in spite of the logo staring all of them in the face. Jayden leaned back in his seat and wondered if it was worth picking up the magazine in front of him. They never took the time to throw the older ones out, so he could probably quote half of the articles in there without even trying. Then again, with a drama playing on the big screen, and little else to do to occupy his time, he found himself seriously considering giving the magazine another shot.

_At least then I could convince the lady I'm sitting next to that I'm not in need of serious medication. Damn airplanes._

Turbulence always made him jumpy, and now was no exception. The plane had taken off without a hitch, cutting through the cloud cover as neatly as possible, but bumps periodically ran through the cabin. He had taken to compulsively tapping his fingers on the armrests and took a break only to down the complimentary water the stewardess had handed to him. Even a crossword puzzle would've helped on a trip like this. He had gone a little pale, but continued to pointedly ignore the one thing that would settle his nerves in an instant.

_That's not what it's for, and even if it was, keep it together man! You're trying to quit, remember?_

He took in a few calming breaths and forced himself to think of anything but that. The open window to this right caught his eye and he noticed the gray clouds blotting out the sky. It only took one look for him to briefly consider giving the departing city the finger. The insult itself would mostly be aimed at the weather and his lovely coworkers, of course, but as he watched the city pass by his motivation to do so fizzled as quickly as it had appeared. Not everyone down there deserved that sentiment. He may have been a born cynic and skeptic, but humanity still had a way of surprising him sometimes.

_Determined fathers and stubborn as hell reporters included._ Those two had surprised him the most, and convinced him that in the end maybe things really would be okay.

Any further contemplation was interrupted when a small bump suddenly caused the cabin to lurch, and he clung to the armrests for dear life. He needed a better distraction, stat. When it passed, his arm shot up so he could wave down the nearest stewardess. One pulled up with a cart of sodas and packaged peanuts. "Yes?"

"Ma'am, you don't happen to serve alcoholic drinks on this flight, right?" Jayden asked, keeping his voice steady.

"We have a few available here, sir. What did you have in mind?"

"A vodka martini sounds pretty good right now."

The plane shook again and he swallowed the growing lump in his throat_._ "...Actually, scratch that. Just get me the vodka."

This was going to be a _long_ flight.

* * *

Fin

* * *


End file.
